Monday, September 22, 2008

That's right - every bank and other financial institution in the United States has just become a de-facto organ of the United States Government, if Hank Paulson thinks they should be, and he may order them to do virtually anything that he claims is in furtherance of this act. This might include things like demanding that a bank or other financial institution sell him its paper, even if it forces that firm to collapse and be assumed by the FDIC....

Having bought these securities for any price Mr. Paulson would like (and he can compel institutions to sell at his demanded price as noted above!) he can then sell those assets at any price he wishes, to anyone he wishes. It certainly is nice to be a "Friend of Hank", and it most certainly sucks if you're not.

This is just another attempt to take advantage of the American people's fear of disaster. Do recall how 9/11 and the excuse of "fighting terrorism" has been used for a panoply of expansions of government power... this is the same technique but magnified in scope. If the financial system is broken, then let it fail. The probable consequences are vastly preferable to the likely consequences of this power grab.

The Democratic whack-jobs of the left are correct in two regards. First, the Republican Party elite really are national socialists in the economic sense of the term. They say "National Greatness Conservatives" but "national socialist" is actually more accurate. Second, George W. Bush absolutely deserves to be impeached and removed from office. His crimes are as blatant and far more serious than Bill Clinton's. The Congressional passage of this proposal may well serve to demarcate the end of America as a nation with even the appearance of freedom.

A tangential thought: if depriving the government of one million dollars merits 11 years in prison, how much time will these bankers serve?

UPDATE - Obama does better than expected by getting it half right: "Obama said a combination of greed and unfettered free markets had brought the country to "a perilous moment ...a financial crisis as profound as any we've seen since the Great Depression."

There was greed, to be sure. But there was absolutely nothing free about the financial markets. They couldn't have created a problem of such magnitude if the government had not been actively involved.